That's a wrap for the last 48 hours

Lockdowns multiply across the world

AP

Major streets and highways were deserted in many parts of the world Saturday as curfews and lockdowns multiplied in the face of a rapidly advancing virus that is severely straining many health systems.

A lone woman takes a photograph of the Sydney Opera House today.

Three American states with a combined population of 70 million are moving to restrict residents to their homes. California started Friday and New York and Illinois were to follow this weekend. Connecticut and Oregon were preparing to do the same.

Once bustling outdoor plazas fell quiet in Bavaria after it became the first German state to tell people to stay home, except to go to work, buy food, visit the doctor or exercise.

Colombia became the latest South American country to announce a lockdown, and Sri Lanka closed all expressways for a weekend curfew.

With hospitals already under pressure, officials in many countries are desperate to prevent - or at least limit - a repeat of what has happened in China and southern Europe.

More than 275,000 cases have been confirmed globally, including more than 11,000 deaths, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. At least 88,000 have recovered.

More than 10,000 people poured into the nation's capital on the ninth day of protests over police brutality, but what awaited them was a city that no longer felt as if it was being occupied by its own country's military.

States are also adopting special rules to protect older residents and those with compromised immune systems.

Governor Cuomo also acknowledged that people would need to go outside for their physical and mental health.

As in California, healthy people in New York can generally can leave their homes for groceries and medicines, and to exercise and take walks, as long as they keep six feet away from others.

"This is not life as usual," Cuomo said. "Accept it and realize it and deal with it."

5.46pm – Mar 21, 2020

Magpies staff member tests positive

A staff member of AFL team Collingwood has tested positive the virus, the league announced on Saturday.

Collingwood stressed the staff member has not been in contact with any members of the playing group or football department.

But it raises fresh questions about how long the season can last after AFL boss Gillon McLachlan said earlier this week the league would undergo a mandatory 30 day suspension if any player tested positive.

UK draws up airline bailout plans

The Financial Times is reporting the UK government is drawing up plans to buy equity stakes in airlines and other companies hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis after being warned that the economic packages it has announced so far will not be enough to save them.

UK taxpayers would inject billions of pounds into companies including British Airways in exchange for shares that would eventually be sold back to private investors, according to three people briefed on the proposals.

The government was warned by bankers that the support it has already unveiled — including £330bn of loan guarantees — would not be enough to stave off the collapse of companies that had seen their revenues all but evaporate. PA

5.38pm – Mar 21, 2020

NT to close borders as cases rise

AAP

The Northern Territory will introduce strict border controls in response to the coronavirus pandemic, forcing anyone entering the region to quarantine themselves for 14 days.

"This is an unprecedented action for the Northern Territory. But these are unprecedented times." - NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner. ABC

The new requirements will come into force from Tuesday afternoon and will apply to entrance by road, rail, air and sea.

Exemptions will apply to health and emergency services, defence and policing, flight crews and freight, though all arrivals will have to show they meet the essential services criteria.

Exemptions may also be granted on compassionate grounds.

"The government is announcing these new measures today to give Territorians as much confidence as possible that we are taking every step possible to keep you safe," Chief Minister Michael Gunner said on Saturday.

"This is an unprecedented action for the Northern Territory. But these are unprecedented times."

Mr Gunner said the restrictions would not impact the delivery of essential goods and services, with supermarkets and stores to remain stocked.

"The measures we are implementing are tough, but their purpose is clear, to save lives and keep Territorians safe," he said.

"That will always be our first priority."

Five people have now reportedly tested positive for coronavirus in the Northern Territory.

The latest case involves a couple who had been on the Ruby Princess cruise ship in Sydney before flying to Darwin on Saturday.

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4.38pm – Mar 21, 2020

A call to stop almost everything for 8 to 12 weeks

The Grattan Institute's chief executive, John Daley, writing in The Conversation today, proposes that shutting down everything except essential services and sealing the borders for 8 to 12 weeks could be a viable endgame for the pandemic in Australia.

Mr Daley argues that a shutdown of a relatively short duration could work to contain the infection rate to zero and provide hope to business and enable governments to intervene better to hold society and the economy together.

He argues that the plan to "flatten the curve" (what he calls endgame A) would still mean many deaths and hospitals would be over run. "Australia is also likely to run out of intensive care capacity when there are about 45,000 infections - a small fraction of the population," he writes.

A second strategy (endgame B) to trace and track every infection, something governments are trying to do, "is only plausible if you start with very few infections and have sealed borders".

A third option, endgame C, is to “stop then restart”. This means minimising activity and interactions, and sealing the borders to passenger traffic including citizens (although not trade), until infections are driven down to zero.

Only essential services would be maintained (particularly the food supply chain and utilities such as electricity, water and the internet).

Endgame C is not available to every country. The disease has already spread too far in Iran, and may have done so in the United States. It’s a difficult strategy for countries with big land borders with neighbours that let the disease run.

Bondi Beach cleared

NSW Police David Elliott announced the drastic measure on Saturday afternoon after photos of throngs of beachgoers flocking to the iconic Sydney strip drew swift condemnation.

Thousands flocked to Bondi Beach on Friday amid temperatures in the high 30s, ignoring social distancing measures.

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Pictures of big crowds were criticised by foreign media and on social media.

The decision comes as the number of coronavirus cases in NSW ballooned to 436 after 83 new cases were identified in the state.

"It's a significant level of disappointment that we have to move today to not only remove people from Bondi Beach and it's a significant opportunity to remind people that the Health Act must be complied with," Mr Elliott said.

"What we saw this morning at Bondi Beach was the most irresponsible behaviour of individuals that we've seen so far.

"We cannot have an area where more than 500 people are gathered."

Under regulations introduced to control the spread of the deadly virus, outdoor gatherings of 500 people or more have been banned.

As part of that, lifesavers will have the power to close beaches and ask people to move on if a crowd of 500 or more is gathered at the same spot.

The minister said that if the crowd does not comply, NSW Police will have the powers to make people leave.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt also hit out at people who flouted social distancing advice and risked spreading the virus.

"What happened in Bondi was unacceptable and the local council must take steps to stop that occurring," Mr Hunt said.

More than 10,000 people poured into the nation's capital on the ninth day of protests over police brutality, but what awaited them was a city that no longer felt as if it was being occupied by its own country's military.